Happy Eat Your Noodles Day!

On top of spaghetti, all covered with cheese, I lost my poor meatball, when somebody sneezed.

My very first memories of noodles date back to my early childhood in Australia when, as a treat, my parents took my brother and me out for dinner at an Italian restaurant. I remember the candles on the tables, the while linen tablecloths, and the spaghetti bolognese we always ordered. With parmesan cheese sprinkled on top, this meal also usually had us singing, ‘On top of spaghetti, all covered with cheese…’

When we took a ship from Sydney to England when I was about five, I was shocked to discover green pasta on our plates in the ship’s dining room. The Italian waiters laughed at our response and explained that the pasta derived its colour from spinach. Though this sounded positively horrifying (spinach infused pasta??), it was delicious and we quickly moved past our initial reluctance and gobbled up our meals. [Curious about how we were taught to eat our spaghetti as kids? Read this article about whether or not to use a spoon to roll your spaghetti strands onto your fork.]

Ancient Noodles Unearthed in China

According to an article in National Geographic, a bowl of millet noodles discovered in an archeological dig in China is the oldest example of the dish ever found. The noodles, estimated to be 4,000 years old, suggest people have been making and enjoying some version of long, stringy dough for a very long time. 

What makes a noodle a noodle? The shape of a noodle (long) is one distinguishing feature. But from there, the variations are endless. Noodles may be flat or round and may be made from a number of ingredients. There are still areas in China where you’ll find millet noodles, but wheat-based noodles are more common in Italian pasta, udon noodles from Japan, Indonesian bakmi noodles, and several other varieties, too. 

Rice noodles are popular in a number of Vietnamese or south Indian dishes, while others are made from acorn meal (dotori guksu from Korea, for example) or mung beans or potato starch (cellophane noodles). 

Noodles and soup go together like… spaghetti and meatballs.

Boiled, Baked or Fried - Noodle Preparation

Preparation varies from place to place - noodles may be boiled, baked, chilled, or fried. Perhaps my favourite way to consume a noodle is in soup - chicken noodle soup is a comfort food I first grew to love in childhood. My German grandmother made a delicious version using delicate vermicelli broken into shorter pieces and finely chopped green onions. Much later, I discovered the delights of Udon noodles in broth. A good bowl of ramen is something I still enjoy today. 

How Do You Like Your Noodles?

What about you? What’s your favourite noodle dish? Let us know in the comments. That’s one easy way to earn menu hunter points and be eligible for some fun foodie prizes! 

Looking for some great dining options in Banff? Have a browse through our online menus by clicking on the big orange ‘EXPLORE’ button on the homepage of TasteMagazine.ca.

Does Spaghetti Grow on Trees? Can You Use a Spoon?

Spoon or no spoon? How do you eat your spaghetti? [Source]

If my mother had had access to YouTube she would have shown us this all too convincing documentary about where spaghetti comes from. Who knows how long it would have taken me to figure out the truth?

My mom was full of … surprises. She taught us kids a lot of useful things like how to tie our shoes, how to read, and how to address the Queen, should she ever come calling.

She also told us that spaghetti grew on trees. I was dubious, but when we visited the Old Spaghetti Factory in Vancouver, they had a photograph of women harvesting the long strands from trees…

Who knew? If my mother had had access to YouTube, she would have removed any lingering doubts we may have had by making us watch this now-famous BBC documentary about the spaghetti harvest.

The whole ‘spaghetti grows on trees’ story wasn’t the only not-quite-accurate information she shared. When it came to spaghetti-eating, my mother was adamant that the only right way to consume stringy pasta was with a spoon and fork. She drilled us about not taking too many strands of spaghetti onto our spoons at one time so that when we rolled up the spaghetti (by pressing the tines of the fork into the bowl of the spoon and then twiddling the fork) we didn’t wind up with a bundle of spaghetti too big to fit in our mouths. 

We had practice sessions and were made to do it properly. This lesson was right up there along with always saying please and thank you, keeping our elbows off the table, clearing our plates when we left were finished, and not leaving the table before we asked permission. 

Mother Knows Best - Or, Does She?

I accepted all this as gospel until I moved in with a bona fide Italian who took one look at my two-handed spaghetti rolling skills and shook his head. “Italians don’t eat spaghetti like that.”

Wait, what? My mother was wrong about something like this? It hardly seemed possible. 

I did a little research and while it’s true that most restaurants provide a spoon and fork for pasta patrons and none other than Emily Post declared that both were necessary for acceptable spaghetti consumption, in fact, Italian kids learn to twirl their spaghetti without the help of a spoon.

Well. I. Never. 

When in Doubt, Ask an Expert

Still in denial that this could be true despite mounting evidence to the contrary, I chatted with Nick, a nine-year veteran of the Old Spaghetti Factory (the Banff location) to see what he had to say on the matter. “I’d say about 2/3 of the customers don’t use a spoon.” 

I was astonished. No spoon assistance at all? Nope. Though Nick did say that some customers “…may use a knife to cut off a stray strand.” 

A knife? That hadn’t even entered my mind as being a possible solution. Back at home, my mother insisted that nobody over the age of four should have their spaghetti cut up for them. It was a rite of passage to graduate from an adult cutting our pasta for us to being handed a fork and spoon and being taught the ‘proper’ way to do things. 

Don’t Believe the Expert? Ask Google

Except, apparently, it isn’t! Further research revealed that in Italy, only very young children and hopeless people (and tourists) use spoons. 

Not that you will be made to feel bad if you go to the Old Spaghetti Factory and ask for a spoon. “As long as our customers are enjoying their meals, it doesn’t matter,” Nick says. “It’s a matter of personal preference.”

As for Nick, he avoids the prickly issue altogether by avoiding spaghetti. “I prefer shorter pasta - penne or tortellini.” 

However you choose to get your spaghetti strands to your mouth (or if, like Nick, you prefer your pasta on the short side), you’ll find lots of options on offer at Victoria restaurants. I’ve listed a few below to get you started.

Old Spaghetti Factory
703 Douglas Street
A family favourite for decades, come for the pasta and stay for the spumoni!

Can’t decide what kind of sauce to go with your spaghetti? Check out the Pot-Pourri Spaghetti with Meat, Mushroom and Clam Sauce - it’s a sampler for the undecided and includes generous portions of the Old Spaghetti Factory’s most popular sauces.

An evening at Il Terrazzo is always a special occasion.

Il Terrazzo
537 Johnson Street
There’s a reason Il Terrazzo has been consistently named the best Italian restaurant in Victoria. The place serves great food and the ambience just can’t be beaten!

Take your pasta tasting up a notch with their Spaghettini con Capesante served with seared scallops, mushrooms, smoked bacon, leeks, fresh lemon and cream.

Pagliacci’s
1011 Broad St

The bustle and energy at Pagliacci's is a given, as is the line to get in for lunch and dinner. This longtime Victoria institution, serves fresh, delicious and fun Italian fare that is a favourite among Victoria’s locals. 

Just reading the menu at Pagliacci’s is fun, in fact. Take the Spaghetti Western description:

Spicy meatballs & linguine in tomato sauce with parmesan “You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig.” -Eli Wallach as Tuco in The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

See what I mean?

Zambri’s
820 Yates Street

Zambri’s is about a whole lot more than just a helping of spaghetti. This great Italian restaurant focuses on the whole experience and has set the stage to sit and enjoy a Prosecco from their impressive wine list. Paired that Prosecco with a new dish or an old favourite.

If you love tuna as much as I do, you might want to give their Spaghetti alla putanesca a try. Tuna, olives, capers, anchovy, and tomato sauce add something rather special to a spaghetti meal.

For a more comprehensive list of Victoria restaurants and their full menus, have a browse through our online menu blog.

Spoon or No Spoon? What's the Official Way to Eat Spaghetti?

To use a spoon, or not to use a spoon… that’s the spaghetti question! [Source]

When I was a kid, my mother was adamant that the only right way to eat spaghetti was with a spoon and fork. She drilled us about not taking too many strands of spaghetti onto our spoons at one time so that when we rolled up the spaghetti (by pressing the tines of the fork into the bowl of the spoon and then twiddling the fork) we didn’t wind up with a bundle of spaghetti too big to fit in our mouths. 

We had practice sessions and were made to do it properly. This lesson was right up there along with always saying please and thank you, keeping our elbows off the table, clearing our plates when we left were finished, and not leaving the table before we asked permission. 

Mother Knows Best - Or, Does She?

I accepted all this as gospel until I moved in with a bona fide Italian who took one look at my two-handed spaghetti rolling skills and shook his head. “Italians don’t eat spaghetti like that.”

Wait, what? My mother was wrong about something like this? It hardly seemed possible. 

I did a little research and while it’s true that most restaurants provide a spoon and fork for pasta patrons and none other than Emily Post declared that both were necessary for acceptable spaghetti consumption, in fact, Italian kids learn to twirl their spaghetti but without the help of a spoon.

Well. I. Never. 

When in Doubt, Ask an Expert

Still in denial that this could be true despite mounting evidence to the contrary, I chatted with Nick, a nine-year veteran of the Old Spaghetti Factory in Banff to see what he had to say on the matter. “I’d say about 2/3 of the customers don’t use a spoon.” 

I was astonished. No spoon assistance at all? Nope. Though Nick did say that some customers “…may use a knife to cut off a stray strand.” 

A knife? That hadn’t even entered my mind as being a possible solution. Back at home, my mother insisted that nobody over the age of four should have their spaghetti cut up for them. It was a rite of passage to graduate from an adult cutting our pasta for us to being handed a fork and spoon and being taught the ‘proper’ way to do things. 

Don’t Believe the Expert? Ask Google

Except, apparently, it isn’t! Further research revealed that in Italy, only very young children and hopeless people (and tourists) use spoons. 

Not that you will be made to feel bad if you go to the Old Spaghetti factory and ask for a spoon. “As long as our customers are enjoying their meals, it doesn’t matter,” Nick says. “It’s a matter of personal preference.”

As for Nick, he avoids the prickly issue altogether by avoiding spaghetti. “I prefer shorter pasta - penne or tortellini.” 

However you choose to get your spaghetti strands to your mouth (or if, like Nick, you prefer your pasta on the short side), you’ll find lots of options on offer at Banff restaurants. I’ve listed a few below to get you started.

For a more comprehensive list and for full menus, have a good browse through our online menus.

Old Spaghetti Factory
317 Banff Avenue

Can’t decide what kind of sauce to go with your spaghetti? Check out the Pot-Pourri Spaghetti with Meat, Mushroom and Clam Sauce - it’s a sampler for the undecided and includes generous portions of the Old Spaghetti Factory’s most popular sauces.

Ticino Swiss Italian Restaurant
415 Banff Ave

Ticino Swiss-Italian Restaurant has been family-owned and operated since 1979 and the owners are proud to support local suppliers (like Valbella Meats, local farms, BC wineries, the Banff Roasting Co. and the Banff Tea Co.). That kind of passion for local combined with a love of European dining means a memorable experience you’ll want to linger over. Be sure to try their Spaghetti al Sugo con Verdure Grigliate (spaghetti with meat sauce, garnished with grilled vegetables). 

Castello Ristorante
405 Spray Avenue

Craving a taste of the “La Dolce Vita”? Reserve your table at Castello Ristorante now to feel as though you are gazing at the Coliseum from a tiny Italian bistro. At Castello, the pastas are hand-made, the pizza is perfection and the desserts provide the sublime end to any meal.

Catello’s Spaghetti main dish comes with house meatballs, Parmigiano Reggiano, basil, and marinara sauce. 

Meatball Pizza & Pasta  
337 Banff Avenue

Meaty, cheesy, carby deliciousness is what the Meatball Pizza & Pasta is all about. Look no farther for all of your Italian-inspired favourites from Bruschetta to in-house-made gnocchi, and of course, spaghetti.

Do Tell! Spoon or No Spoon?

You know we have to ask… how do you like to eat your spaghetti? What did your Mama tell you about the ‘proper’ way to do things? Or, like Nick, do you prefer penne? Share your pasta-consumption strategies in the comments below!

For more Italian dining options, have a look at our selection of online menus.